A Moment Lost
by pbj.bookworm
Summary: A short scene either pre- or post-battle of New York after Black Widow has knocked Loki out of Hawkeye's head and he is haunted by what has happened.


Pushing him down on the couch, she ran her fingers up into his hair as she swung her leg out to straddle his hips and his hands automatically fell to rest on her's. Tightening her grip in his hair, she pulled his head up so that she could see his face. His eyes eyes were closed and his brow furrowed and she gave a sad smile as she shook her head. She hated to see him like this because she knew how much pain he was in but she couldn't help but feel guilty. He had always been her rock, her shoulder to cry on, her compass in the storm, and this was one of the few times that she could be that for him.

Gentling her hands, she slid one hand down to cup his whiskered jaw as she studied his face. He hadn't shaved in a few days. Dark bruises from lack of sleep rested under his eyes and he had a new cut over his right eye. His hands tightened on her hips and he drew in a quick deep breath as she leaned forward and brushed her lips across the cut.

"Nat," he said quietly and she rested her finger on his lips to quiet him.

"Shhh, don't speak. Just let me take care of you." Tipping her head, her lips found his first his right and then his left eyelid. Glancing at his face, she felt a spark of triumph as she saw his brow smoothing and the lines of tension around his eyes relaxing. Her lips briefly touched his, like a whisper and a slight pressure on her hips made her pull back to see his blue eyes open. Still haunted by the images flashing though his mind, his gaze was shuttered but she could see the passion lurking in their depths, just beneath the surface. She leaned forward, this time pulling his lips up to meet hers as she kissed him with a desperate need to take that darkness away from him. His lips remained unmoving but he didn't push her away again.

Shifting her body closer to him, she ran her tongue along the seam of his lips, tempting them to part. They didn't and she groaned in frustration before trailing her lips down to his neck where she licked and nipped her way down to the hollow of his throat making him arch his neck back with a sharp breath. A small grin formed on her lips at that sound as she worked her way back up the strong column of his neck to the sensitive skin behind his ear where his pulse thrummed. Placing a feather light kiss on that place, her grin grew as she felt a shiver travel through the carefully controlled body beneath her.

She pressed even closer still, nestling her body into the muscled contours of his frame as she brought her lips up next to his ear to breathe, "Let me love you." Suddenly it was like a dam had burst somewhere inside him. His grip on her hips became inescapable as he pulled her even closer to him and he brought his head down to slant his lips across her's in a deep soul wrenching kiss born of urgency and a need which he had kept bottled up for far too long. She kissed him back with every fiber of her being, moving her body against him in rhythm to their kiss. His hands began to move over her, up her back and then down, molding to the curves of her figure. His fingers slipped up under her shirt and she trembled at the rasp of his calloused hands on her bare skin as his hands gently caressed her on their path upwards. The need for air forced her to pull up from his kiss, but she was struck breathless again as his lips found her throat and she allowed her head to fall back in what she was sure was wanton abandon. Her chest rose and fell with rapid shallow breaths and a heady moan escaped her lips as his thumbs brushed the under-swell of her breasts.

At her moan, his hands and mouth stilled and she knew the moment was lost. He slowly withdrew his hands from under her shirt and rested them on the couch beside him with his head still bent but no longer touching her.

"Dammit, Nat," he said with more defeat than heat in his voice. "We can't."

"Why not?" she asked, running her hand through his hair and trying to make him raise his head.

"You know why," he answered, finally looking up at her. When he did, the sheer longing and pain in his face made her pull back her hands and drop her gaze.

"Yeah," she said, pulling herself up and off the couch and tugging her shirt down into place before looking back at him. "But just because I know the reason, doesn't mean I have to agree with it." She bent back down to him, pausing when she got close to give him the chance to move away. He didn't, and she leaned in to press a gentle kiss to his lips before straightening and moving to the door and exiting with a sad smile cast over her shoulder to him.


End file.
